U.S. v. Laton

Decision Date10 December 2003
Docket NumberNo. 02-5185.,02-5185.
Citation352 F.3d 286
PartiesUNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. John LATON, Defendant-Appellee.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

ARGUED: Jennifer L. Webber, ASSISTANT UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Memphis, TN, for Appellant.

Leslie I. Ballin, BALLIN, BALLIN & FISHMAN, Memphis, TN, for Appellee.

ON BRIEF: Jennifer L. Webber, ASSISTANT UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Memphis, Tennessee, for Appellant.

Leslie I. Ballin, BALLIN, BALLIN & FISHMAN, Memphis, Tennessee, for Appellee.

Before: DAUGHTREY, MOORE, and SUTTON, Circuit Judges.

MOORE, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which DAUGHTREY, J., joined. SUTTON, J. (pp. 302-15), delivered a separate dissenting opinion.

OPINION

KAREN NELSON MOORE, Circuit Judge.

Local and state government institutions provide a wide variety of services ranging from transportation to economic development, which can produce ripples in the broader stream of interstate commerce to varying degrees. The general question presented by the relatively bizarre factual background of this case is whether or not a core function of municipal government — the provision of firefighting services — impacts interstate commerce such that an individual can be indicted under a federal anti-arson statute for destroying a fire station. The more precise question, upon which we dwell, is whether the Henning, Tennessee Fire Station was used in an activity affecting interstate commerce such that the person charged with setting it ablaze can be indicted under 18 U.S.C. § 844(i). We hold that this particular fire station was used in an activity affecting interstate commerce and accordingly REVERSE the judgment of the district court dismissing the indictment and REMAND for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

I. BACKGROUND FACTS AND PROCEDURE

Prometheus may have thought twice before handing down the gift of fire to humans had he imagined that those whom the mere mortals chose to steward the precious flame would use it to decimate the very mechanisms employed to control its power. We are faced with precisely such an odd event. On March 3, 2000, the Henning Fire Station ("HFS") was destroyed by fire. Henning is a rural town in the western Tennessee county of Lauderdale. It lies between Memphis and Dyersburg on U.S. Route 51 and is approximately twenty miles from the Mississippi River. On September 18, 2001, a federal grand jury indicted John Laton ("Laton"), the chief of the Henning Fire Department ("HFD"), on one count of arson in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 844(i), the federal anti-arson statute.

Laton subsequently moved to dismiss the indictment in October 2001, contending that the district court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the prosecution because the HFS was not used in an activity affecting interstate commerce. Both parties agreed upon and submitted to the court a set of stipulations, which established the relevant facts regarding the HFS and the HFD. First, the HFS housed firefighting equipment, including fire trucks, nozzles, uniforms, hoses, and other equipment. Additionally, the HFS contained an office, a kitchen, and meeting spaces for members of the HFD. Second, the HFD purchased most of its firefighting equipment from out-of-state vendors, and the HFD in the past relied upon out-of-state vendors for repairs to this equipment. Third, the HFD is responsible for responding to fire emergencies in Henning, which, like any other town, contains residences, churches, public buildings, and businesses. In the past, the HFD has responded to various emergency calls involving several businesses in Henning, including a market and a laundry facility, the Henning Police Department, and vehicles in distress on U.S. Route 51 and at the U.S. Route 51 rest area. Fourth, when the HFD responds to fire calls outside of the Henning city limits, the HFD charges out-of-state insurance companies $500. Fifth, the volunteer firefighters who compose the HFD are paid wages by the City of Henning based upon the amount of time that they spend at a fire scene. The total wages paid to the firefighters generally does not exceed $1,000 per year. Sixth, the firefighting presence of the HFS and the HFD impacts insurance rates in Henning. Virtually all American insurance companies use the Public Protection Classification ("PPC") to calculate fire-insurance premiums in a particular area. The PPC is partially based upon the equipment, staffing, training, and geographic distribution of local fire departments. Fire insurance premiums in a community with a "good" PPC are considerably lower than in a community with a "bad" PPC, and insureds in an area that lacks fire services altogether will have the "worst" PPC and the highest premiums.

The district court granted Laton's motion to dismiss on the ground that the HFS was not used in interstate commerce. United States v. Laton, 180 F.Supp.2d 948 (W.D.Tenn.2002). It focused its analysis on "whether the [HFS] was used in the activities of the [HFD], and whether those activities substantially affect interstate commerce." Id. at 952. The court thus bifurcated the purposes of the HFS and the HFD, reasoning that it was "not significant that the [HFS] houses the trucks that drive to sites" of fires involving business or other instrumentalities of interstate commerce because "[t]his is too attenuated a series of connections to constitute a building that is used `in any activity'" that affects interstate commerce. Id. The district judge then ruled that the purchase of supplies from out of state, the payment of some wages to the firefighters, the fees billed for out-of-city fires, and the impact upon insurance rates did "not indicate any sort of active employment, but is again evidence of, at the very least, a passive connection." Id. at 953. Accordingly, the court dismissed the indictment, because it ruled that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the case. Id.

The government timely appealed the district court's ruling. We have jurisdiction to hear such an appeal pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3731. See id. ("In a criminal case an appeal by the United States shall lie to a court of appeals from a decision, judgment, or order of a district court dismissing an indictment...."). On review, we reject the reasoning of the district court, reverse its judgment dismissing the indictment, and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

II. ANALYSIS
A. Erroneous Dismissal for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction

As a preliminary matter, we hold that the district court erred in dismissing the indictment based on the conclusion that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction. In United States v. Rayborn, 312 F.3d 229 (6th Cir.2002), which we decided after the district court's decision in this case, we held that the interstate-commerce requirement "is simply one of the essential elements of § 844(i)," even though it is frequently denoted a "`jurisdictional element.'" Id. at 231. We explained that "[i]t is not jurisdictional in the sense that it affects a court's subject matter jurisdiction, i.e., a court's constitutional or statutory power to adjudicate a case." Id. The district court here, just like the district court in Rayborn, did have subject matter jurisdiction over the indictment under 18 U.S.C. § 3231.

This does not end the appeal. We noted in Rayborn that "this court typically vacates a dismissal order when it determines that a district court has erred in dismissing a case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction...." Rayborn, 312 F.3d at 232. Yet, Rayborn also instructs that when the district court "undertook an evaluation of the merits of the interstate commerce question under the guise of subject matter jurisdiction," id., we are permitted to determine whether the evidence produced by the government (or in this case stipulated to by both parties) is sufficient to permit a rational jury to find that a particular building was used in an activity that affected interstate commerce such that the indictment can still stand. Id. at 235-36; see also United States v. Latouf, 132 F.3d 320, 325-26 (6th Cir.1997) ("The relevant inquiry when reviewing claims of insufficient evidence is whether after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt." (internal quotations omitted)).

We follow Rayborn's lead and review the merits of the district court's determination that the HFS was not used in an activity that affected interstate commerce. Because the inquiry into whether the HFS affects interstate commerce is a mixed question of fact and law, we review the district court's determination de novo. United States v. Salvo, 133 F.3d 943, 948 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 523 U.S. 1122, 118 S.Ct. 1805, 140 L.Ed.2d 943 (1998).

B. Section 844(i) and Its Applicability to Government Buildings and Property

We start with the plain language of the statute. Section 844(i) provides: "Whoever maliciously damages or destroys, or attempts to damage or destroy, by means of fire or an explosive, any building, vehicle, or other real or personal property used in interstate or foreign commerce or in any activity affecting interstate or foreign commerce shall be imprisoned for not less than 5 years and not more than 20 years...." 18 U.S.C. § 844(i) (emphasis added).1 The statute thus covers the arson of any building that is either used in interstate commerce or that is used in any activity affecting interstate commerce.2

Crimes of arson have traditionally been viewed as "paradigmatic common-law state crime[s]," but in 1982 Congress chose to federalize certain arson crimes as an exercise of its Commerce Clause power. Jones v. United States, 529 U.S. 848, 858, 120 S.Ct. 1904, 146 L.Ed.2d 902 (2000).3 In seeking to avoid "render[in...

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